Unexpected Family
by Foxy527
Summary: Steve hasn't seen or heard from Madison since leaving Hawaii when his mother died. Now "the one who got away" is unexpectedly back in his life and she is about to turn it upside down.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a refreshingly quiet week for the Five-0 team. Steve had sent everyone home and decided to check his email one last time before going home. He was praying things would stay quiet. He, Danny, Chin, and Kono had spent a couple of crazy weeks fighting one disaster after another and everyone was burned out. The break had been something they all needed.

Steve turned on the computer and started perusing through his email. One message from "MFreeman" immediately caught his attention and caused him to sit up a little straighter at his desk:

_Steve,_

_I know it's been a long time (16 years to be exact) and I am probably the last person you expect to hear from again, but I need to see you. Please email me back or give me a call. It's important….Please don't say no._

_Madison_

She ended the email with her phone number. Steve read it through three more times. His head was spinning. Madison Freeman had been his girlfriend in high school. His first love. His first heartbreak. His first everything. They were the stereotypical couple with him being the football captain and her being on the cheerleading squad. They had dated their junior and senior years before Steve had been sent to the mainland after his mom died. John McGarrett had insisted that his children cut off all ties with everyone on the islands until things settled down. Steve hadn't been able to say goodbye to anyone. Not even his Maddie. The shock of his mother's death and then being separated from his father and Mary had sent Steve into an emotional tailspin. Being forced to leave without saying goodbye to Maddie had devastated him even more. He felt like he'd lost everything he had in a few short days.

After joining the Navy, Steve had tried to reach Maddie a few times after finding out she had moved to Los Angeles to go to college. She had never returned any calls from him and he had eventually let it go. He knew he had hurt her, but it hadn't been intentional. He had wanted so badly to explain why he had to leave the way he did, but she had never given him a chance. As a result, he had moved on as hard as it had been to do. Hearing from her out of the blue today stirred up emotions he had long since buried.

Picking up his cell phone, he quickly punched in her number. A few rings later, her voice mail came on asking him to leave a message. Just hearing her voice again made his heart beat faster.

"_Maddie, Hi. It's Steve. Um…..I…uh….Yeah, I would love to see you." he stuttered. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself, " Call me back and let me know when you'll be here. I can pick you up at the airport or whatever. Just let me know…Bye."_

_**************h50********h50_

Madison Freeman came out of the gym and reached into her bag for her phone. Seeing she had missed a call, she cursed to herself. Damn, she'd missed Steve. She listened to his voice mail and felt the old familiar tug in her chest. His voice had deepened over the years, but he still sounded as sexy as ever. Back in high school, she had loved their late night phone conversations just so she could listen to him talk. He had always ended the calls by saying, "Goodnight, Maddie-girl. I love you." Hearing his voice again made her feel like the schoolgirl she had been so long ago.

She got into her car, fired up the engine, and started home. Once she was on the road, she hit the speaker phone button in her car to call him back. He answered almost right away.

"McGarrett." he answered in his typical greeting.

Maddie took a deep breath, "Hi, Steve. It's Madison."

There was a brief pause. "Maddie. Hi." his voice softened. "It's been a long time."

"I know. It's been _too_ long." She paused before continuing, " Listen, I hate to impose on you all of a sudden after all these years, but I really need to see you. Could we get together tonight? " she sounded nervous which worried Steve.

"Tonight? You're in Hawaii?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. I came in late last night. I understand if you can't meet tonight. I mean, I know you probably need to give your wife some notice or something….but it's important. I need your help." She sounded almost desperate.

" It's no problem. I….uh….I'm not married….and Mary is living in L.A now, so it's just me." Madison was relieved but also surprised to hear that he wasn't married. "When and where do you want to meet?" he asked.

"As soon as possible, and you name the place."

"Okay. How about my place in an hour and a half. I'm still in the same house, so I'm easy to find."

"That would be great. I'll see you then." Maddie paused for a moment, "Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry it's been so long."

He didn't know what was going on, but it was good to hear her voice regardless. "Me, too." he smiled into the phone, "See you in an hour, Maddie girl." Hearing the familiar goodbye once again almost brought tears to her eyes.

After they hung up, she realized she was gripping the steering wheel in a grip so hard it had made her knuckles hurt.

. _It's now or never. In a couple of hours both of our lives are going to change forever._ Maddie thought to herself as she said a silent prayer that Steve would understand what she was about to do.

**********h50***********h50

Steve stared at the phone for a few moments after they hung up. He hadn't heard from Maddie in years and now she was back on the island. She wanted to see him. Said it was important. His stomach felt unsettled as it often did when he knew something was amiss. He finally shook his head as if to bring himself back to the present as he headed for his truck to go home.

Steve took a quick shower and thanked his lucky stars that the house was fairly clean. Danny thought his neatness was annoying, but in times like this Steve was happy the Navy had drilled it into him.

Before long, the doorbell rang. Steve ran his fingers through his hair one last time, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Maddie. Sweet Maddie was at his door. They both stood still a few moments just staring at each other. She looked as beautiful as ever. Actually, even moreso in Steve's opinion. She had the same long brown hair, hazel eyes, and sweet smile that he remembered even though her smile was hesitant right now. Her teenage body had grown into a beautiful woman with curves that made him want to touch her again.

Steve was the first to break the silence. He smiled at her, "Maddie….You look great."

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in as she smiled back, "So do you."

A couple of awkward moments passed before Steve reached out to pull her into a hug. Dear God, how he had missed her.

He led her into the house and they exchanged some small talk for a few minutes sharing about their lives. She had gone to college. He had joined the Navy. She'd lost her mother a few years back and he told her briefly about losing his dad. She was a teacher. He was a cop.

After about 20 minutes of small talk, she seemed to tense up a little and get quiet as if she was afraid to go on.

Sitting beside her on the couch, Steve took her hand to try and calm her down. "Sooo…..Do you want to tell me what brings you here after all this time?" He looked at her encouragingly.

She looked tense. Nervous even. She stood up and started to pace as she kept her back to him. Not wanting to feel as if he was threatening her, Steve remained seated and willed her to open up to him.

"Maddie, what's going on?" he urged quietly.

She finally turned around and looked at him sadly. "There is one thing about my life I haven't told you yet."

She walked quickly over to her purse before pulling up a picture on her phone and handing it to him.

"This is my daughter, Stephanie." She took a deep breath, "Stephanie...McGarrett."

Steve looked up in disbelief. Stephanie_ McGARRETT?_


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter is heavy on dialogue. I felt it was the easiest way to tell the backstory of what has happened and why Maddie is back. Hope you enjoy.**

******************h50***********h50**

"This is my daughter, Stephanie," Maddie took a deep breath, "Stephanie... McGarrett."

Steve looked up in disbelief. Stephanie_ McGARRETT?_

Steve stood up. The look on his face was a mixture of confusion and anger.

"Excuse me?" Steve said quietly trying to maintain control of his mixed emotions at the news.

Maddie swallowed and started wringing her hands together which Steve remembered as a sign of her being nervous. "She's our daughter, Steve."

Steve's eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell, Maddie?! You show up after 16 _years_ and tell me something like this? Why didn't you tell me before now?"

He was angry. She knew he would be, but her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

"I didn't know I was pregnant until after you left. You didn't say goodbye or anything and I had no way to reach you. What was I supposed to do?" Tears were flowing down her face at this point, and as much as Steve hated to see her cry, he needed the truth from her.

"Leaving wasn't my choice, Madison, and you know that. My dad explained all of this to your parents when he made me leave. Why didn't you tell _him _you were pregnant? Or what about the times I tried to contact you when you were in college? Did it ever occur to you to pick up the phone and say, 'Hey Steve…..Just thought I'd let you know we have a _daughter_? I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

Now Steve was pacing too. And he only called her "Madison" when they fought, so she knew he was mad.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I really am. I picked up the phone dozens of times, but I could never bring myself to call you. I didn't want to ruin your career in the Navy. As time passed, it got harder and harder to tell you. It was like I blinked and all this time had passed and she'd become a teenager."

"Yeah. A teenager who's never known her father because you made the choice not to let me take responsibility for her too." He looked down at the pretty girl on the phone again. She had Maddie's long brown hair but there was no denying she had his eyes, nose, and smile. She looked just like him.

Looking back up at Maddie he asked, "So why are you telling me about her now?"

Maddie took a deep breath. "Because I think she's in trouble and I need your help."

Steve ran a hand down his face. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long story. Let me grab a couple of beers and you can tell me what's going on."

When Steve returned, he uncapped the bottle before handing it to her. He held her gaze and demanded, "Tell me everything, Madison. I mean it. No more holding out on me. You owe me that much."

They sat back down on the couch as Maddie began.

"Stephanie is a great girl. You'd be really proud of her." She looked at Steve and smiled, "I named her after her Daddy as a way to try to keep her connected to you in some way. If I had a boy, I was naming him Steven. If I had a girl, I was naming her Stephanie." Steve felt his gut twist knowing she was named after him. "She's always been a good student and is on the cheerleading squad like I was. She's funny….and caring. She's also tall like you and, as you can see in the picture, she has your eyes and smile. She's grown into a beautiful girl. About six months ago, she was scouted by a modeling agency who offered her a contract. I was okay with it as long as it didn't interfere with her school. At first, she was just booked for local photo shoots and fashion shows; Mostly small things, but she was getting a lot of attention and we started getting calls from bigger agencies."

"Okay. Go on." Steve urged.

Maddie took a drink of her beer before continuing. "The pressure in modeling can be brutal and Stephanie started to change."

"How so?" Steve asked.

"She was losing weight that she didn't need to lose. She also became withdrawn and stopped talking to me like she always has before. She started arguing with me over everything and I felt like she was slipping away. I didn't know if she was taking drugs to help her lose weight or what, but something was definitely off. A couple of weeks ago, she told me about a modeling contract in Hawaii that her agent wanted her to take. I obviously didn't want her to travel this far by herself and I wasn't able to take off of work when she needed to come. I told her she couldn't go. We had a huge argument over it, but she eventually seemed to let it go."

Maddie took another drink and sighed, "Until 2 days ago when I came home to find a note she'd left for me saying that she was flying to Hawaii to do the photo shoot….and that she planned to look you up while she was here."

Steve stood up again. "Woah. Wait. I thought she didn't know about me?"

"She didn't. Well, not exactly. She knows I had her when I was a teenager and that her father was from Hawaii because this is where I lived at the time. I started looking through her computer and found searches she had done for McGarrett's who live in Hawaii. With you being with Five-0, it wasn't all that hard for her to figure things out. I mean you guys are in the newspaper all the time. I would've told her before but…"

"But, you decided to make the decision for both of us by keeping me out of her life." Steve interrupted.

"That's not fair." Maddie shot back.

"The hell it isn't, Madison!" Steve snapped. Then taking a deep breath, he said, "Look, what's important now is that we find her. We'll sort the rest of it out later."

It was nearing 9 o'clock when Steve called his team back in to HQ so they could begin the search. He didn't fill them in on any of the details figuring it would be best to break the news to them in person. He was taking Maddie along to help with that.

He reached for her hand, "Come on. Let's go find our daughter."

She took his hand and looked up at him uncertainly, "Forgive me?"

"I can't just let this go. You've been lying to me for 15 years."

Tears sprang to Maddie's eyes again and she quickly looked away, "I know, but...I was hoping..."

"Look at me, Madison." Steve gently demanded. When Maddie didn't immediately comply, he turned her chin towards him and said again, "Look at me."

When she met his gaze, she saw that he wasn't angry. Just hurt. "I can't let it go _yet_…..but we'll get there. Ok?" He leaned down to kiss her forehead before taking her hand again and leading her to his truck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I realize that some of the "timelines" mentioned in this story aren't completely accurate with the show, but this is a work of fiction...so I've taken some liberties there. Hope you enjoy! :) **

Steve pulled into the parking lot at the Five-0 headquarters right behind Danny. He helped Maddie out of the truck and took her hand as he led her into the offices. Danny approached them with a curious look, so Steve quickly made introductions.

"Danny, this is Madison Freeman…a high school friend of mine. Madison, this is my partner Danny Williams."

_High school friend, my foot_, thought Danny to himself. He shook Madison's hand and started small talk as the three walked in together. Chin and Kono were already there waiting on them to arrive. As they walked in, Chin thought he recognized a familiar face from the past.

"Madison Freeman?" he smiled at her.

Maddie returned the smile, "Chin Ho Kelly! You haven't changed a bit. I remember when you were a rookie working with Steve's dad." She gave him a warm hug and then introduced herself to Kono.

"Steve and Maddie were quite the pair in high school. The captain of the football team and the captain of the cheerleading squad." Looking back at Maddie, he said, "I know John and Doris thought a lot of you, Maddie."

Maddie blushed a little at the compliments. "Thanks, Chin. The feeling was mutual."

"So, Steven….What brings us in at 9 on a Friday night?" Danny couldn't contain his curiosity anymore.

Steve slipped a media card into the computer as pictures of Stephanie came up on screen.

"This is Maddie's daughter, Stephanie. She's 15 and she left L.A. to come to Hawaii two days ago.. She's here with a modeling agency doing some work without Maddie's permission, so we need to find her."

Everyone remained quiet for a few short moments as they all stared at the pictures in front of them. They were looking at a teenage girl who had Steve's facial features and could practically be his twin. All three turned to look at him almost simultaneously, but no one was brave enough to say anything.

Danny finally spoke up, "So if this is just a missing persons case, why are we getting involved. Can't HPD handle this?"

"Yes, they could, but I want my team on it." He paused for a brief second before taking a deep breath and confirming what they were already thinking, " Stephanie is also _my_ daughter. "

Danny opened his mouth to say something but Steve put up his hand to quiet him and continued. He took Maddie's hand with his free hand, "And before anyone says anything, NO, I did not know about her until now, but we can go into all of that later. The important thing right now is to find her and make sure she's okay. Like I said, she's here doing some modeling" He looked at Maddie as he continued, "But she apparently also came here looking for me."

"Kono, Maddie has the name of the agency she's working with. I want you to give them a call. I want to know where they are staying, what is their schedule, and what are their hangouts when they're in town. Talent agencies always like to get their people out and about. I want to know where they've been, where they're going, and where they're at right now."

"Got it, Boss." Kono left with Maddie to start making calls.

"Chin, I need you to get Stephanie's pictures over to Duke so he can circulate with the guys on patrol to see if anyone has seen her. Keep me informed. Danny and I are going to go to some of the popular clubs and see if we have any luck finding her that way."

As they were leaving the office, Maddie came out of Kono's office to talk to Steve briefly.

"If you do find her, go easy on her. I know she came her to find you, but it's going to be a shock to her if you find her first. Know what I mean?"

"Don't worry. I'll get her back….and I'll take care of her." Steve winked at her, squeezed her hand and walked out the door.

*************h50*****************h50

Danny and Steve had visited two clubs with no success when they got a call from Kono telling them the name of a club that the modeling agency often took models to when they were in town.

As they got closer to their destination, Danny decided to check with Steve who had been very quiet.

"You okay, Buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Steve answered.

"Well, maybe because you just found out you have a 15 year old daughter, that's why. That's not exactly routine news."

"I'm ok, Danny". Steve tried, unsuccessfully, to assure him.

Danny looked at him as if he didn't believe him. Steve sighed, "Okay, so maybe I'm not okay, but I don't have time to think about it now. We need to find her and make sure she's ok. Then we can start sorting all of this out."

"Okay, well I just want to warn you."

Steve rolled his eyes since Danny always seemed to be about doom and gloom. "Warn me about what?"

"Trust me. Paternal instincts for daughters can run very strong. Doesn't matter if you've had a daughter for 5 minutes or 20 years. I can almost guarantee you that you are going to feel SOMETHING if we find your _underage_ daughter in a club with people….specifically _men_, who are older than her. If it was Grace, I would kill them first and then move on to dealing with her. I don't want you to fly off the handle. You're going to have to handle this diplomatically if you don't want to scare her off."

Danny had a point, Steve had to admit. "I'll be fine. Trust me. I'm good at being diplomatic." Steve smiled.

_Mmmhmm. How many times have I heard that before?_ thought Danny as they got out of the car and approached the entrance to the club. They walked up to the doorman who looked them up and down and shook his head, "We're full tonight. No one else gets in."

Steve lifted his shirt a little to show the badge clipped to his waist and glared at the man, "I'm pretty sure you have room for two more". The doorman reluctantly lifted the rope to let them inside.

The music was loud, the drinks were flowing, and the place was full of 20-somethings looking for a good time. Steve and Danny started making their way around when Danny spotted a table full of girls none of whom could be over the age of 19. He spotted Kylie right in the middle of the pack and discreetly pointed the table out to Steve. Steve noticed her too and stopped as if he's suddenly been bolted to the floor. He couldn't make his feet move as he looked at her for the first time. _His_ daughter. It was almost like looking at a mirror version of himself except she was female. She was so beautiful and he suddenly felt very protective. Getting her out of there and away from the leering eyes of the men in the club became his first priority.

"You ready to do this?" Danny asked him shaking him out of his trance.

"Yeah. Let's go." Steve said and they walked towards the table of girls. As they approached the table, a waiter approached as well with a tray full of cocktails. Knowing that most of the girls were probably underage, Steve waited for a moment before saying anything. As the waiter got ready to hand a drink to Stephanie, Danny stopped him.

"Have you checked ID's on these young ladies?" Danny asked.

"Of course we did. They're checked at the door." the man replied.

"Well, the doormen need to get their eyes checked so they can see dates on those ID's instead of just pretty faces." said Steve. "I'd bet my paycheck that none of them are over 19. I know for a fact, you have some that are only 15 at this table." He looked directly at Stephanie as he spoke.

As their eyes met, recognition crossed her face as she realized she was looking at her dad. Steve McGarrett in the flesh. Even though she had wanted to find him, she suddenly felt defiant when they were face to face.

"Come on, Stephanie. You're coming with us." Steve reached his hand towards her and waited for her to move.

"Like hell, I am." she shot back.

Steve's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Danny as if he didn't believe what he'd just heard, then back at Stephanie, "Excuse me?"

She crossed her arms defiantly. "You heard me. I said, like _hell_ I am!" A couple of her friends giggled in agreement with their friend.

A woman approached them who appeared to be a "chaperone" from the agency.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" She asked protectively.

"Yes you can." answered Steve as he showed her his badge. "I'm Commander Steve McGarrett with Five-0. I would highly suggest you get these young ladies out of here and into something more age appropriate."

"Steve _McGarrett_?" she questioned as she looked from Kylie to Steve.

"Yes, Steve McGarrett. Stephanie is my daughter. She will be coming with me and you need to get the rest of them to a hotel or wherever it is you are staying since they are all to young to be here….drinking." Then he looked pointedly at Stephanie, "Let's go. Now!"

Stephanie decided to do as she was told in order to save herself from being any more embarrassed. After all, she'd never had a dad before so she wasn't exactly sure what might happen if she didn't do as he said. Something told her Steve wasn't one to try anything on, so she stood up with a huff, told the other girls she would see them soon, and stalked out of the club with Steve and Danny following close behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Stephanie walked out of the club with her head held high trying to ignore the two men following close behind. Steve, on the other hand, tried to ignore the fact that Stephanie barely had enough clothes on to cover herself. He noticed the men admiring her as she walked through the club and didn't like it….not one bit. By the time they finally got outside, he had come close to clocking a couple of them for staring at his girl. Danny was right: Paternal instincts seemed to kick in immediately. Anyone watching the trio make their way out of the club had an interesting sight: Stephanie was pouting, Steve was scowling, and Danny was taking it all in with interest.

They stepped into the cool night air and Stephanie stopped once they reached the sidewalk not knowing which way to go. Steve walked up behind her and motioned in the direction where they had parked. "The car is this way."

As he walked slightly passed her, he noticed her wiping a tear from her eye. It stopped him in his tracks. He came back to her and reached out to touch her shoulder but she shrugged him away.

"Don't touch me." she snapped.

"Okay fine. " Steve held up his hands in surrender, "Follow me then."

"I'm not going with you." Stephanie declared. Steve slowly turned back to face her again.

"Yes, you are." he said matter of factly. "This isn't open for discussion, Stephanie, and I'm not going to stand here and argue with you about it. You're in a lot of trouble, young lady. Now get your behind in the car before I throw you over my shoulder and carry you. And judging by the length of that skirt you have on, that's not something you want me to do."

Stephanie glared at him. He had to admire her spunk even though it was exhausting him at the moment. Suddenly, her brave façade disappeared as tears started to well up in her eyes. Her shoulders began to shake as she tried bravely not to shed any tears. Steve looked at Danny not knowing what to do. How could she go from defiance to tears so fast? Danny motioned for him to try again. Steve could handle a lot of things, but female emotions was not one of them. Especially the roller coaster emotions of a teenage girl.

Steve reached out to her again and this time she didn't push him away. "Come here," Steve said as he pulled her to him. "Danny, call Chin and let them know we have her and will be there as soon as we can." Danny nodded and stepped away to make the call while Steve turned his attention back to Stephanie.

"I didn't want it to be like this," she sobbed into his shirt.

"Shhhh…." Steve soothed. "You didn't want _what_ to be like this?"

"I didn't want to meet _you_ like this. This isn't how I had it planned."

"Well, how _did_ you have it planned?"

Stephanie didn't answer right away. She just continued to cry into Steve's chest as he held her close. Much to Steve's relief, her tears finally began to subside, but she still didn't let him go. He let himself enjoy the moment even though they had a long way to go before any real relationship could be established. For now, he just enjoyed holding her.

She finally answered his question. "I didn't really have a solid plan to be honest. But if I did, it wouldn't have involved crying into your shirt like a little baby." She stood up straighter and wiped her eyes again. "I'm a grown woman after all."

Steve folded his arms and stepped back to look at her. "Uh, I wouldn't say that. A grown woman wouldn't leave a note for her mother and then jump on a plane to fly hours away where she didn't know anyone. Do you know how dangerous that was? You've worried her sick. I understand you wanting to come here and meet me….and I'm really happy that has happened…..but there is a right way and a wrong way to do these things. What you did was very irresponsible."

Feeling appropriately scolded, and knowing Steve was right, she didn't say anything to him. Danny finished his conversation with Chin and Maddie and walked back to them. Steve put his arm around Stephanie, "Come on. Let's go find your Mom and the three of us will discuss this a little more."

Stephanie turned her big eyes up to him and tried to smile innocently. "Do we have to? Maybe we could just forget all of this and start fresh."

Steve was struck with how that look seemed to melt his heart and was reminded of the times Danny had talked about Gracie using this particular trick. He didn't let himself back down, though. He just shook his head, "I'm afraid not, sweetie. Let's go over this again: You ran away, boarded a plane and flew to Hawaii, went to do a modeling job your mom told you _not_ to, and we just found you hanging out and drinking at a club when you're only 15. Not to mention the fact that you're barely dressed. The three of us are going to have a long discussion about all of this when we get back to my house tonight. "

Hearing the offenses stacked up like that, Stephanie realized how much trouble she was in. Something told her that Steve wasn't the type to just let things go, either. She suddenly didn't feel so good.

They made their way back to the Five-0 headquarters and found Chin, Kono, and Maddie waiting for them. Maddie immediately ran to Stephanie.

"Stephanie! Oh baby, I'm so glad you're ok!" She held on to her daughter for a minute as if not wanting to let go. Then she stepped away to glare at her, "Stephanie Michelle, what were you thinking? I can't _believe_ you did this!"

Stephanie hung her head knowing everyone was listening. "I'm sorry, Mom. I really am."

"Well, you're in big trouble, young lady. BIG trouble. We're going to have a long talk about this."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, "I know, I know. Geez, I've already gotten the 3rd degree from Steve."

Steve stepped in, "Hey, don't sass your mother. And I better not see any more eye rolling, do you understand?"

Stephanie looked at Steve. He raised his eyebrows and repeated the question, "Do you understand me?"

Stephanie immediately changed her tone and sighed, "Yes, I understand."

Maddie couldn't help but smirk at this little exchange.

He looked at his team, "Thanks for coming in guys. I'll see you all in the morning. Maddie, Stephanie, and I have a lot of catching up to do."

Everyone said their goodbyes and headed home.

***********h50*********h50

It was nearly 1 a.m. when they got back to McGarrett's house. Stephanie had fallen asleep on the way home. Looking at her in the backseat of the truck, Steve looked at Maddie and whispered, "It's been a long day. What do you say we get her in bed and just pick this up in the morning? We'll have more time and won't be so tired. The important thing is that she's safe now."

"Sounds good to me." Maddie answered. "I'm exhausted." She turned around to wake Stephanie up, but Steve stopped her.

"No, let her sleep. I'll get her." He handed his house keys to Maddie so she could unlock the house and gave her the code to the security alarm. While Maddie took care of that, he opened the back door of his truck and gently lifted a sleeping Stephanie into his arms to carry her into the house.

He carried her up to Mary's room as easily as he could trying not to wake her. Maddie turned down the covers of Mary's bed and Steve laid her down and covered her up. With her eyes still closed, she sleepily whispered, "Goodnight, Daddy." Maddie's heart swelled at the endearment and Steve got a large lump in his throat. She may not remember it in the morning, but he would never forget it: The first time she called him Dad. He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, "Goodnight, sweetie." Maddie kissed her as well and the two of them left the room to head downstairs.


End file.
